Muhammad Rafique, Shafqat Hameed and Mujtaba Hassan Agha
Absorptive capacity being an emerging field of research has been studied in different perspectives both in technological aspects and soft issues. Although an original study of…
Abstract
Purpose
Absorptive capacity being an emerging field of research has been studied in different perspectives both in technological aspects and soft issues. Although an original study of absorptive capacity placed employees as playing pivoting role in the development of absorptive capacity (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990), unfortunately, there are limited studies on behavior of employees toward this emerging construct. This study aims to explore the impact of employees’ behavior in the development of absorptive capacity. Specifically, impact of knowledge sharing, learning adaptability and organizational commitment on absorptive capacity has been evaluated in this study.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional study was conducted at the pharmaceutical firms of Pakistan. The data were collected through random sampling from middle managers as a unit of analysis of this study. The rationale of the unit of analysis is that the maximum information is handled/accessed by the middle managers in the perspective of Pakistan. The data were collected from 170 respondents on a five-point Likert scale with the response rate of 66.7 per cent. Data were collected from different genders and different age groups with different qualification levels.
Findings
All independent variables showed significant positive correlations with overall absorptive capacity (ACAP). At the same time, different relationships of all independent variables were found in different ways with different significant levels. The results showed that different strategies may be adopted to manage the external knowledge for competition in turbulent environment. For example, organizational commitment may be incorporated at strategy formulation only, whereas the Adaptability at both routine and strategy formulation stage. As all independent variables showed no correlation with Acquisition it is concluded that Acquisition is purely a routine function, and instead of coordination, the routine processes must be emphasized.
Research limitations/implications
This study focused on the data from the middle managers of the pharmaceutical firms only. The results may not be generalized to the sectors. Another limitation is that the respondents of the study were middle managers. It was made intentional to see the impact of management aspects other than organizational mechanisms, as discussed by Cohen and Levinthal (1990) and Jansen et al. (2005) in their studies. The results on the basis of the data collected from other entities of the organization may differ. This is a cross-sectional study, and a longitudinal study may give different results.
Practical implications
Absorptive capacity has the capability to absorb new knowledge and plays an important role in the development of organizational processes to compete in the turbulent environment. It is dependent not only on technological infrastructure but also on the employees’ behaviors and attitudes. This study gives insights about the knowledge process activities and employment of human resource at each phase of absorptive capacity in relation to their behaviors toward knowledge process.
Social implications
Development of organizational process with knowledge management plays an important role in the capacity building, which ultimately enhances social paradigm of activities.
Originality/value
Pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan acquire technologies from foreign countries and have very limited research and development of their own. As technology is upgraded by the foreign companies as a continuous improvement process, local firms of Pakistan are required to absorb the new knowledge with the same pace. The study highlights importance of human capital in the development of this capability.
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Muhammad Saleem Sumbal, Mujtaba Hassan Agha, Aleena Nisar and Felix T.S. Chan
This study aims to investigate the various systems in logistics industry of Pakistan through the lens of the World Bank's logistics performance indicators (LPI) and understand…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the various systems in logistics industry of Pakistan through the lens of the World Bank's logistics performance indicators (LPI) and understand their impact on the China–Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) that is a vital part of China's belt and road initiative (BRI).
Design/methodology/approach
In this study thematic analysis was performed on twenty-three semi-structured interviews with experts in Pakistan's logistics and supply chain sector to gain an in-depth insight into the logistics performance relative to CPEC.
Findings
A performance gap exists in the logistics systems in Pakistan, both for hard and soft infrastructure. The significant challenges are the inefficiencies of the government, minimal use of information and computing technology (ICT), and an incapable workforce. It is essential to be cognizant of the ground realities and amendments required in the existing policies and practices in light of the challenges faced and best practices adopted by developed and developing countries with good standing in logistics performance. This study will guide policymakers and practitioners for hard and soft logistics infrastructure improvement, which may benefit economic corridors in general and CPEC in particular.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the role of ICT in improving both soft and hard logistics infrastructure, which can lead to significant development of economic corridors. The study makes use of a case study of the CPEC to demonstrate the lack of ICT can hamper the growth of an economic corridor despite billions of dollars of investment in the hard infrastructure development projects.
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Muhammad Rafique, Shafqat Hameed and Mujtaba Hassan Agha
The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of middle managers (MM) in the knowledge-intensive environment as perceived by the employees, MM and principal decision makers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of middle managers (MM) in the knowledge-intensive environment as perceived by the employees, MM and principal decision makers (DM) in the context of the absorptive capacity process.
Design/methodology/approach
In this qualitative study, the data were collected from pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan by using purposive sampling and the results were analyzed based on the thematic analysis approach.
Findings
The results show that employees and principal DM have a strong agreement between them regarding the roles of MM; however, MM have contrasted views. Some of the roles were agreed to by all the respondents.
Research limitations/implications
This study has focused on the roles of MM (common and conflicting) in knowledge-intensive pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan. The results of other studies on the roles of MM in the context of traditional and hybrid organizations may differ from this study.
Practical implications
The results of this study show the importance of role specificity of MM for the smooth absorptive capacity process. While dealing with complex knowledge structures in pharmaceutical companies, this study gives strong input to HR mangers and consultants and practitioners as they continuously handle complex knowledge process activities.
Originality/value
The study has explored the specific roles of MM by using the thematic analysis approach.